Assessment of thyroid status of patients in Solomon Islands: a retrospective study

Thyroid Function Tests are used for assessing the thyroid status of an individual. In the Solomon Islands blood samples for thyroid function tests are collected and sent to the Royal Brisbane Hospital Laboratory in Australia on a weekly basis. The major objective of this study was to use the thyroid function tests results obtained over the period 2008 to 2012 to retrospectively assess the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in the Solomon Islands. This study used convenience sampling that included all the 2070 requests for thyroid function tests from 2008 to 2012 recorded in the registry books in the Clinical Biochemistry Department in the National Medical Laboratory Pathology Division in the National Referral Hospital in Honiara Solomon Islands. The data collected were analyzed using Microsoft excel for Windows 8 and the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 20 for Windows. Ethical clearance and permission were obtained from the appropriate authorities. A total of 1485 (71.7%) recorded results were used for data analysis. Thyroid disorders were prevalent in 51.5% of the patients in 2008, 43.9% of the patients in 2009, 54.8% of the patients in 2010, 52.6% of the patients in 2011 and 51.8% of the patients in 2012. The prevailing thyroid disorder in each of the five years was primary hyperthyroidism, 36.4% in 2008, 25.8% in 2009, 31.5% in 2010, 28.7% in 2011 and 28.2% in 2012. The number of thyroid function tests requests for females was about twice that of males in all the various years. Prevalence of primary and subclinical hyperthyroidism was significantly higher among the female patients compared to the male patients in all the various years.

Status of iodine nutrition among school-age children (6 – 12 years) in Morobe and Eastern Highlands Provinces, Papua New Guinea

Insufficient intake of iodine or consumption of foods containing goitrogens can decrease thyroid function leading to multiple physical and mental disorders known collectively as iodine deficiency disorders. Successful implementation of the universal salt iodization strategy, which is the main intervention strategy for the control and elimination of iodine deficiency, requires constant monitoring. Urinary iodine concentration is the recommended biochemical indicator for assessing the iodine status of a population. The present studies were prompted by the apparent lack of published data on the status of iodine nutrition among school-age children in Morobe and Eastern Highlands provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The aims of these studies were to determine the urinary iodine concentration in school-age children (6 – 12 years) as a way of assessing the impact of the salt iodization programs in Morobe and Eastern Highlands Provinces in PNG. These prospective school based cross-sectional studies were carried out in Aseki-Menyamya district Morobe province and Gouno, Mt. Michael Local-Level Government area in Lufa district Eastern Highlands province, PNG. Simple random sampling was used to select primary schools in each district. The iodine content in salt samples was measured using the single wavelength semi-automated WYD Iodine Checker Photometer. Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was estimated using the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. In Lufa district, the mean per capita discretionary consumption of salt was 4.7 ± 2.1g per day with a range of 2.1 – 9.6g; the mean iodine content in salt samples from the households was 17.8 ± 4.5ppm; the iodine content was below 15ppm in 23.8% of all the salt samples. For the children in Aseki-Menyamya district, the median UIC was 149.5μg/L, Interquartile Range (IQR) was 70.0 – 300μg/L; the UIC was below 100.0μg/L in 32.9% of the children and 17.9% had UIC below 50μg/L. For children in Gouno Lufa district, the median UIC was 50.0μg/L, IQR was 23.9 – 76.0μg/L, 87.9% had UIC below 100.0μg/L, and 49.2% had UIC below 50.0μg/L. The results indicate that iodine deficiency should be considered a significant public health problem among the school-age children in Gouno Lufa district. Our findings indicate the urgent need for efficient, sustainable, systematic and functional monitoring system to strengthen and improve on the implementation of the USI strategy in both districts.

Frequency of Alleles D16S539, D7S820, D13S317 in a population sample in National Capital District, Papua New Guinea

The allele and genotype frequency values of the three tetranucleotide short tandem repeat (STR) loci, D7S820, D13S317 and D16S359, were analysed in blood samples of 25 unrelated randomly selected individuals in the National Capital District, Papua New Guinea. Gene-Print Silver-STR III Multiplex kit (Promega Corp., Medison, WI, USA) was used for the PCR amplification in GeneAmp®PCR System 9700 thermal cycler (Applied iosystems). Data analysis was carried out using the PowerStatsV12.xl workbook template obtained from Promega Corporation. The three STR loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Five alleles (9 – 13) were identified for D16S539, five alleles (8 – 12) for D7S820 and six alleles (8, 9, 11 – 14) for D13S317. No new or microvariant alleles were observed. The most frequent genotypes for D16S539 were 11-11 and 11-12; for D7S820 were 10-11 and 12-12; for D13S317 was 8-12. Observed Heterozygosity was highest in D13S317 (0.880). The combined power of discrimination was 0.99733 and the combined power of exclusion was 0.9363. The data suggests that the three loci are useful for identity testing, forensics and for solving paternity cases among the population in National Capital District, Papua New Guinea.

Vitamin A status of pre-school-age children aged 6 to 59 months in the National Capital District, Papua New Guinea

Assessing the vitamin A status among pre-school-age children is essential for evaluating the magnitude and public health status of vitamin A deficiency in a population. This cross-sectional study assessed the vitamin A status of children aged 6 to 59 months resident in the National Capital District (NCD), Papua New Guinea. Children attending the Children's Outpatient Clinic at Port Moresby General Hospital participated in this study. Informed consent was obtained from parents before using blood samples from their children. Assay of plasma retinol was carried out using the 'Clin-Rep' complete kit for assay of vitamins A and E in plasma by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A commercial enzyme immunoassay kit was used to assay C-reactive protein (CRP) in plasma. Of the 132 children in the study 108 (82%) had received vitamin A capsules. The median plasma retinol concentration of the 132 children was 0.98 micromol/l and the interquartile range 0.65-1.38 micromol/l. Of the 132 children, 35 (27%) had a plasma retinol concentration below 0.70 micromol/l. 75 children (57%) had normal plasma CRP levels and in 57 (43%) the CRP levels were elevated. The median plasma retinol concentration of the children with normal plasma CRP was 1.19 micromol/l and the interquartile range 0.93-1.50 micromol/l. The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in the children with normal plasma CRP was 11%, indicating a moderate public health problem. 74 (56%) males and 58 (44%) females were included in the study. The prevalence of VAD in the male and female children with normal plasma CRP was 14% and 8%, respectively, indicating a moderate public health problem among the male children and a mild public health problem among the female children. The prevalence of subclinical (mild to moderate) and marginal VAD among the children with and without elevated CRP strongly suggests the need for continuous monitoring of the vitamin A status of the vulnerable groups in NCD.

Status of iodine nutrition among school-age children (6 – 12years) in Honiara Solomon Islands

The effectiveness of the universal salt iodization strategy in the control and elimination of iodine deficiency in a community requires systematic monitoring of urinary iodine concentration, which is the key biochemical indicator recommended for assessing the impact of iodine deficiency control programs. Published data on the salt iodization programme for control of iodine deficiency in the Solomon Islands is scanty. The aims of this study were to determine the iodine content of salt in the households and the urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) in schoolchildren, age 6 – 12 years, in Honiara, Solomon Islands. This was a prospective school-based study. Multistage cluster sampling method was used for selecting the study population. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 19 of the 28 primary schools in Honiara Solomon Islands. The iodine content in salt samples was measured using the single wavelength semi-automated WYD Iodine Checker Photometer. UIC was estimated using the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. Salt was available and used in 99.5% of the households. The mean iodine content in household salt samples was 55.2  17.7ppm. The iodine content was  15.0ppm in salt samples from 99.1% of households. Data indicates successful implementation of universal salt iodisation strategy. Median UIC for all the children was 328.0ug/L, Inter-quartile range was 210.38 – 437.0ug/L. UIC in 97.2% of all the children was  100ug/L and 0.7% had UIC below 50ug/L. Median UIC values for the male and female children were 337.0ug/L and 325.0ug/L respectively. UIC in 97.1% of male and 97.4% of female children was  100ug/L. Data indicate that iodine deficiency is not a public health problem among schoolchildren, age 6 – 12yrs, in Honiara. Our findings indicate the need for an efficient, sustainable, and functional monitoring system to strengthen and improve on the achievements of the USI strategy in Honiara, Solomon Islands.